Chapter 24 Chapter 24 "What should I do?"
She pressed her forehead against his shoulder, tears streaming silently down her face.
It's strange, she was already regulating her emotions, she'd heard far worse things before, and was immune to them all.
But as soon as I saw him, I couldn't hold back my tears.
Ye Peixiu gently stroked her head with one hand.
After a moment, he gently patted her hair, his lips almost touching her hair, and whispered, "What happened?"
Xia Qingwan shook her head.
She braced herself against his chest, shifting her body slightly away from him, and turned her head to say, "Shouldn't you be leaving?"
"Your shirt is wet, how are you going to get there?"
Xia Qingwan realized what was happening and wanted to turn on the light to check his shirt. She reached out to touch the main light switch on the wall, but her hand was grabbed as soon as she stretched out her arm.
He didn't touch her wrist, but held her hand completely, wrapped it in his palm, and the tip of his thumb gently stroked the back of her hand.
For the first time, their hands were pressed together so nakedly and without any obstruction.
In the dim light, every tiny touch was magnified.
He held the back of her head again, almost forcing her to lift her face slightly. She could even feel Ye Peixiu lower his head and move closer, his breath gently brushing against her nose.
For a fleeting moment, Xia Qingwan naturally assumed that the kiss would fall and land on her lips.
But the breath lingered, brushing past the tip of the nose and cheeks, finally settling beside the bridge of the nose.
For a moment, neither of them moved, only their breaths mingling.
It was as if they were both craving this moment of intimacy.
“Xia Qingwan,” he said in a low voice, with a calmness that made people want to rely on him, “you should know that no matter what it is, as long as you ask, I can help you sort it out.”
Her heart softened completely, her breathing became erratic, like a pink and white begonia trembling in the misty rain. In this trembling, she asked softly, "...Then what do I need to do?"
This sentence is like a fluttering fallen leaf.
Ye Peixiu rubbed her cheek with the back of his hand, his tone low and obscure, saying just enough, "...Don't you understand?"
His body heat and fragrance enveloped her, sending shivers down her spine.
The big hand gently rubbed her hand, flattening her palm bit by bit, and the slender fingers squeezed into her fingertips one by one. The feeling of intertwining fingers made her heart numb, and the whole person seemed to have turned into a leaf on the boiling water, floating and trembling.
Their bodies were pressed together, and through several layers of fabric, she could vaguely feel his hip bones.
My head was spinning a little, and it took me a moment to realize that the position seemed a bit off.
Xia Qingwan suddenly felt panic in her heart, and reached out to push his waist away in panic. At this time, Ye Peixiu picked her up without warning.
One hand supported her hips while the other protected her back.
She instinctively tried to struggle down, but Ye Peixiu tightened his grip on her butt, "Don't move."
His voice was hoarse and unsettling.
She stopped moving. She nestled obediently against his shoulder.
Ye Peixiu carried her to her bathroom and placed her on the edge of the bathtub.
She still kept her head down, seeming a little bewildered.
"Take a shower and get a good night's sleep." His voice was still low and hoarse. "I'll handle things downstairs."
She hummed softly.
After a moment of silence, Ye Peixiu patted her head and turned to leave.
He stood at the door for a while, because it was quite a while after he left the bathroom that she heard the bedroom door open.
-
As soon as he got downstairs, Ye Peixiu stood by the living room window and lit a cigarette.
It seemed as if he was eager to suppress something with smoke.
It was getting late, so Grandma Xi asked him to stay for dinner.
Aunt Xiaoxuan, who is taking care of us, is already arranging the dishes.
Ye Peixiu took a drag on his cigarette and glanced at his watch.
At this moment, Xia Changping leisurely walked out of the bedroom on the first floor. Upon seeing him, he immediately greeted him with a big smile, "Mr. Ye, would you like to stay for dinner?"
Ye Peixiu gestured for him to go to the side hall.
Xia Changping followed.
The side hall was where Xia Huiqing read and wrote, a place full of antique charm. Outside the old-fashioned window, beyond the gaps in the shadows of the treetops, the distant sky was a dark ultramarine.
Ye Peixiu sat down on the sofa, and Xia Changping diligently placed the ashtray on the coffee table in front of him, then stood beside him with a smile, ready to answer his questions.
Ye Peixiu flicked off the ash from his cigarette and asked gently, "How is the old lady's health?"
"It's all good, everything is fine."
"Mingzhou isn't a kid anymore. It's time to grow up and stop causing trouble for your family."
"Yes, yes, I'll definitely talk to him about it tomorrow when he's sober."
Xia Changping had never acted so obediently in front of anyone in his entire life.
He was still waiting for Ye Peixiu's "further instructions", but Ye Peixiu was lazily leaning against the back of the chair with his legs crossed, just looking at him with his calm and expressionless eyes, without saying a word.
Xia Changping broke out in a cold sweat as he stared at him. His mind was furiously brainstorming, and he said earnestly, as if making a promise, "...Don't worry, don't worry. I know what to say and what not to say."
Some people are like that; if you just look at them without saying anything, they will automatically start to get nervous, and then admit their mistakes and express their loyalty and sincerity.
Ye Peixiu found it funny.
He checked his watch again and said, "It's getting late, Mr. Xia. Where are you going? I can give you a ride."
This means he should leave.
Xia Changping immediately understood and said with a smile, "I have a dinner appointment and will be leaving soon."
Ye Peixiu put out his cigarette and stood up.
-
The incident in Beiguanfang Hutong indeed caused quite a stir.
Everyone spoke with certainty about how Ye Peixiu abandoned all the distinguished guests, strode into the side hall, and pulled Xia Qingwan behind him.
Amidst all the rumors and gossip, the most apprehensive person was the club owner.
Being a club owner is a high-risk job. He only took office at the beginning of this year and has been extremely cautious for ten months. If something goes wrong, he will have offended Mr. Ye, the person he should not offend the most.
Everyone was waiting to see what would happen, and sure enough, on Monday, the club owner was replaced by a new person.
The newly appointed boss is named Wen Hongfeng.
The first thing Wen Hongfeng did after taking office was to go to Peking University in person to apologize to Xia Qingwan.
It was early morning. Xia Qingwan washed up and went downstairs with her books to go to class.
It was eight o'clock in the morning, and there were many people coming and going in front of the dormitory building, all of them walking in a hurry.
"Miss Xia."
Wen Hongfeng called out to her with a big smile.
Xia Qingwan asked suspiciously, "Who are you?"
Wen Hongfeng introduced himself and his purpose, sincerely apologized and asked for forgiveness, and handed over several shopping bags with both hands, saying, "This is just a small gift, please accept it."
Several shopping bags have the Blue Blood Luxury logo clearly printed on them.
Xia Qingwan was deeply shocked.
That day, to be honest, no one had done anything wrong. Xia Mingzhou had taken her to Beiguanfang Hutong several times. She was his cousin, and since Xia Mingzhou was drunk, it was only natural for him to contact her to pick him up.
However, after Mr. Ye showed up, the situation changed: Who would be so bold as to ask the person Mr. Ye was protecting to run errands?
It almost caused her to be harmed by a drunk person.
"I understand what you mean, but I cannot accept the gift."
Xia Qingwan said, "Please go back."
She looks like a cool and aloof beauty, truly the kind of person who doesn't seem to care about worldly affairs.
Wen Hongfeng immediately made a decision and said with a smile, "Then I'll put these things in the club first. If you need them someday, just let me know and I'll send them to you right away."
Xia Qingwan remained silent, while Wen Hongfeng hesitated, seemingly a little embarrassed, "...Then, what about Mr. Ye..."
This is the purpose of this act.
He tried to please her because he was afraid of offending Ye Peixiu.
Xia Qingwan's mind suddenly calmed down.
It was like being chased, running around breathlessly, or just when I stood up straight, I was suddenly hit by a bullet straight at my forehead. The bullet whistled at me with a fierce wind, and everything around me became blurry and distant.
All that remains is the empty wind.
“I will tell him that you have been here.”
Wen Hongfeng breathed a sigh of relief, nodded hurriedly, and smiled, "Oh, thank you so much, Miss Xia, thank you for your understanding."
I came to the teaching building with books in my arms.
This was a major lecture in the department, and there were only five minutes left before class started. The classroom was packed with people, and only the seats in the first row were left.
Xia Qingwan sat down, turned on her computer and textbook, looked up, and stared blankly at the blackboard in front of her.
-
That night, after returning to the dormitory, Xia Qingwan received a call from an unfamiliar number.
Thinking it might be a delivery or a senior student she wanted to discuss something with, she answered the phone.
As soon as the call connected, the other end said, "Xia Qingwan, wanna come out and play?"
It took Xia Qingwan a while to react and realize that it was Qiao Yingxue's voice.
She asked, "Why are you calling me?"
The person on the other end of the phone seemed to choke for a moment, and then Qiao Yingxue's attitude changed. She scolded, "Don't give me that attitude. If you don't want to come, then don't."
The call ended.
Xia Qingwan was stunned for a moment, feeling that all of this was too absurd. So absurd that it left her completely unmoved.
There was a deathly silence without any wind or waves.
She did her homework for a while, then remembered to send Ye Peixiu a message:
"The owner of the shop across the alley came to apologize to me today. He probably hopes you won't pursue the matter further."
Just statements, without any subjective color.
Ye Peixiu called her directly.
"Just finished class?"
"Um."
The sound was faint and without any inflection.
Ye Peixiu paused for a moment, then asked, "When will you be free to see me?"
Xia Qingwan uttered a drawn-out "hmm," as if he was thinking.
In his presence, she was usually reserved due to nervousness. Even when she was completely relaxed, she would only talk more and be more lively. She had never shown her little girl side so openly before.
"...weekend?" she said softly, "I've been quite busy lately, with a lot of homework and assignments."
The voice was soft and sweet, with an air of innocence.
Completely defenseless.
Ye Peixiu's throat tightened.
He chuckled and whispered, "But, I want to see you."
His voice was hoarse, a huskiness he himself hadn't even noticed.
"Then what should we do?"
She said it lightly.
Everything that happened today, the new owner of the club, Qiao Yingxue...
No wonder Xia Changping gave her such a confident and meaningful look when he came to the old house that day.
Presumably, in everyone's eyes, she already belongs to Mr. Ye.
However, that's clearly not the case between her and Ye Peixiu.
The first time we ate together, admiring the rain by the pond, it wasn't like this; in his study in Ye Garden, that gentle kiss on the forehead wasn't like this; last night, when he held her in his arms, it wasn't like this.
Between her and him, there was only an irresistible, fluttering feeling.
She kept avoiding him, not daring to let herself go, and carefully maintaining her dignity, because she felt that she and he were from two different worlds. A man like him naturally had a predetermined path to follow, and so did she.
But why, at such a critical juncture, did everything suddenly turn into such a bloody mess?
Unknowingly, she had been forced by fate to sit in her exclusive seat.
Most beautiful things are not durable, a clear moon is hard to come by, and colorful clouds are easy to disperse.
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Author's Note: The phrase "Most good things are not durable" is from Bai Juyi's poem "Jianjian Yin".
The author wants to say that this is the first time trying this kind of male-female relationship mode, and so far the pace has been relatively slow, the data is not good, and writing it has been very emotionally draining. In short, it has been very difficult to write! Since yesterday, I have considered unblocking the VIP section, but I am not willing to give up, so I tried my best to get back up and write updates today.
Thank you, my dear friends, for following the update!
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